


Booze n' Bonds

by bitchassjer



Category: Charmed (TV 2018)
Genre: Alcohol, but first they're gonna get hammered, i just want mel and macy to be friends damnit, so they're gonna! be! friends!, they're gonna fucking TALK about what happened i promise you that
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-20
Updated: 2020-05-02
Packaged: 2020-05-15 02:38:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 16,339
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19286404
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bitchassjer/pseuds/bitchassjer
Summary: Maggie and Harry are both going away for the weekend, leaving Macy and Mel alone to finally discuss some inner demons.Takes place after 1x22, so spoiler alert if you're not caught up.





	1. special brand of i love you

“There is _no way_ you need all that.” Melanie Vera was leaning against the doorway of her sister’s room enjoying a morning coffee and watching with delight as her younger sister struggled to pack.

Sitting on top of a large, pink, hard-shell suitcase in the middle of her room, Maggie narrowed her eyes. “Seriously? You’re just gonna stand there and not help me?”

Mel shook her head and smiled, “Nope.”

The empath huffed and turned back to the task at hand: closing this god forsaken luggage. She shoved bits of fabric that had spilled out back into the bursting case. “Are you sure-” she sucked in a breath and tugged, “you won’t need-” she shoved more fabric and pulled again, “the Power OF-,” letting out a strangled groan and forcing the zipper with all her might, it finally zipped shut. She sat up victoriously and continued casually, “the Youngest Vera-Vaughn Sister?”

“Are _you_ sure that you need the power of the largest luggage size possible for a _2-day glam_ trip?”

“It’s called _Glamping_ , Mel. And _yes._ I like to be prepared.” Maggie stood up from her recently conquered Everest and walked towards her sister. “ _So_ ,” beginning again once she’d reached Mel, taking the mug out of her hands and sipping it cautiously.

“Sure, help yourself.” Mel said dryly.

“As I was saying; Power of Me? Protecting the structural integrity of the house? Being in charge of keeping the peace?” After a generous gulp, she met a blank stare.

“Maggie, please. First of all,” Mel said, taking her coffee back from the thief, “get your own. Second, I am _certain_ that we can manage a weekend without you, we are good. Really.”

“Mel, the group is down by two this weekend with Harry going halfway across the world creating a, uh… whole new community of… whitelighters for… all magical beings? Orrr…” Mel watched her sister try to remember what Harry said he’d be doing before she gave up. “I don’t know. What _is_ he doing?”

She honestly wasn’t far off. Harry wasn’t going half way across the world, more like half way across the country to meet with a group of other recently _unregulated_ advisers. They had invited other magical beings to join the conversation on how they could continue to provide guidance and support to new witches or magical folk, this time without the rigidity of the Elder’s ruling. The _New Whitelighter Order_ as Harry so excitedly put it. So yes, creating a whole new community of whitelighters for all magical beings was exactly what he was doing this weekend.

“There’s no more Elders, do whitelighters continue to exist without- You know what?” Maggie decided, “it doesn’t matter. My point is, there’s no buffer! It’s just you and Macy here _alone_ holding down the fort.”

The time-witch rolled her eyes. “Macy and I are _fine_. We’re both grownups. We’re fully capable of communicating and handling things ourselves. We don’t need a buffer. _You_ should focus on getting ready for _Glamping_ , whatever that is.” Desperate to change the subject she continued, “What time did Lucy say she’d be here?”

Maggie checked her phone, _7:17am_ , “I have 13 more minutes of this.” She walked back to her suitcase and pulled it upright with ~~major~~ minor difficulty. “Have you two talked about what happened? Like, at _all?_ ” She pulled at the handle and rolled it closer to the door, parking it right in front of Mel.

Shifting her weight against the doorframe, Mel lolled her head to one side, mildly annoyed with how often her sister was bringing up this conversation recently. “No.” Maggie made it a point to look extra disappointed at that.

_Is this really necessary? Am I actually being grilled by my baby sister?_ Tapping her index finger against her mug impatiently, Mel took a deep breath and straightened her posture, “I just don’t think we need to.”

“Uh-huh. Well, _I just think_ that this last year has been a freaking demonic roller coaster for all of us! And we should be stronger and closer than ever but we’re not. It’s like you run away at any chance you get to have _actual_ conversations with her. Or maybe you’re just… _bad_ at communicating your feelings?”

Mel opened her mouth to say something as Maggie checked her phone to read a new message, “ _Rage_ at colonialism, capitalism, and patriarchy is not the same thing as talking to our sister about how she magically yeeted you across the room,” pausing there she typed out a quick response then looked up and with a wince added, “ _twice”_.

Avoiding Maggie’s eyes, Mel looked to the floor as she held her breath at the memory. _Thanks for the reminder, Maggs._

“OR maybe you just, _idunno_ , don’t _want_ to get to know her?”

“Maggie,” Mel’s voice was serious and low now, “stop looking for something that is _not_ there. We are good and all that stuff that happened weeks ago? It’s water under the bridge.” She focused her eyes on her mug for a moment choosing her next words carefully, “I just feel like we’ve moved passed it and I am not looking to drudge up anything that doesn’t need to be.” She waited until her sister’s wary eyes moved to last minute _Glamping_ items to exhale and relax her shoulders. Pushing the phantom feeling of sudden weight against her chest as far from her mind as possible, she carried on with her quickly cooling coffee.

Maggie shook her head, unsatisfied with that answer but not looking to push any further. “Fine. If you say you’re fine, it’s all… _fine_.” She walked towards her closet, “You could at least _try_ to bond. Also? Keep a level head, okay?”

Nearly spitting coffee out everywhere yet somehow managing to swallow it down, she cleared her throat, “Me?”

“Yes, _you_. You can be kind of intense and also hard to read, and that’s coming from someone who can literally read minds.” She pushed several hangers to one side, filtering through them one-by-one, “Mel, I know what it feels like to be shut out by you. I guess I understand why you do it; it just doesn’t make it any less hurtful or easier to move through.”

Mel shrank a little. Maggie had a point; why was this so hard for her?

“I also know that sometimes you can be  _aggressively_ supportive, borderline overbearing, to show that you care but maybe take a different approach with Macy?” she pulled out a jacket and looked it over before putting it back.

“That’s mine.”

“Maybe…” she quickly shoved it aside, “Don’t change the subject.” Landing on a cropped leopard print denim, she threw it over her shoulders and made her way to the vanity. “Anyway, I’ve obviously had _years_ to unpack and work through all this with you. So maybe give Mace a chance to get used to your special brand of ‘I love you’ too? It makes it easier when you actually use your words.” She picked up a pair of rose gold sunglasses and placed them on her head, turning to face her sister.

“ _Special brand of ‘I love you’,”_ the time-witch muttered under her breath.

“Mel, if you two don’t open up and clear the air or _bond_ , it’s going to end up being a point of weakness for all of us.” Mel’s shoulders slumped at the truth of that. Maggie stood up with pride knowing she had won. “You both have the night off! You should go out! What’s a better buffer than alcohol?” She took the hold of her luggage with one hand and shooed her big sister out of the room with the other.

Rolling her eyes, she turned to leave with Maggie in tow. “We _do not_ _need_ a _buffer_.”

Continuing down the hallway towards the stairs she looked back at her little sister dragging the comically large suitcase and with a petty smile added, “Good luck bringing that down!”


	2. take a break

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> let's check in with Macy

Since defeating Source Flame Macy, Hilltowne had been incredibly quiet. A few new magical faces had popped up here and there, but overall, no new demonic activity. Maybe everyone in the Underworld or the Hellmouth or whatever, had felt the seismic activity and decided that resurfacing at this point in time would only be a death sentence.

This was good news for the Charmed Ones, no new demons meant more time to focus on some long-overdue me-time. Which is why it didn’t surprise Macy when her youngest sister had announced earlier that week that she’d be going away for the weekend.

Maggie had really been through the wringer this past year; losing her mom, going to hell, finding out her boyfriend is a (half) demon, finding out her _sister_ was _also_ a (half) demon, unwillingly joining a cult, losing love, struggling with identity, filtering through everyone else’s emotional baggage on a daily basis- let alone her own; the constant death, not to mention the Final Sister Showdown™. If Macy could make it so, she’d send the empath to Rome or Paris or _anywhere_ for a month just to get away from all of this. Maggie Vera-Vaughn deserved a break. They all did, even their trusted adviser.

While Harry would be going away for the weekend too, it wasn’t for any sort of relaxation. Granted, he wasn’t exactly known for “taking breaks”, although he could really use one. _Save Harry_ was a mission they found themselves on a few too many times over the last 6 months. Being a prisoner in Hell-catraz coupled with being held captive by a murderous ~~bitch~~ witch on a rampage had to be terribly harrowing. If he wasn’t going to take a break any time soon, maybe he could at least let loose and cry a little. Perhaps this wasn’t a show of masculinity at its finest but rather their white-person trying not to rely on the Black and Brown women in his life to look after him emotionally. Mel would nod her head in approval at that level of consideration and borderline allyship.

 _Mel_ , she could use a break from this house, from magic, from this _whole_ _timeline_ ; a break from each other, from this awkward sisterly dance.

Macy snapped out of her ponderings to the feeling of suddenly scalding hot water beating down on her hands. Recoiling instantly, she closed the tap, despite the slight discomfort she was also thankful for the interruption that stopped her from launching into another contrite cycle. In addition to the magical chucking and alternate reality sacrificing, was a certain unspoken _something_ hindering their relationship; whether it was residual resistance to the _half-sister-we-never-knew-about’s_ arrival or the _in-the-midst-of-an-“I could be a murderer crisis™”-you-only-cared-about-the-power-of-three_ incident or a handful of other _we are just not getting one another_ episodes, was unknown to the scientist.

The two of them had been alone before, sure, but never with the pre-tense that they would be “hashing things out”. _Thanks for that very specific wording, Maggs._ Now there was all this pressure and expectation to talk about the elephant in the room that was her relationship with one, Melanie Vera. Surveying the tired woman staring back at her, she sighed heavily before giving herself a reassuring nod, _Mel and I are great! We’re both grown-ups. We can communicate our feelings just fine. She’s my sister and she loves me, and I love her. We’re going to be fine._

She moved towards the door; her hand stalled on the knob for a moment. _Is therapy for witches dealing with supernatural death and magically intervened familial divides a thing? There should be. The entirety of the Vera-Vera-Vaughn sisterhood, including our honorary sister, could definitely use it._


	3. how are you actually feeling?

“Good luck bringing that down!”

_“Good luck bringing that down!”_

“Mocking me is not going to make me help you.”

Opening the bathroom door and stepping into the hallway, Macy took stock of what she saw; one tiny Mel, one medium Maggie, and one large suitcase.

“Uh, good morning,” an amused smile spread across her face as she looked between the pair. “What’re we doing?”

“About to watch the consequences of Maggie’s actions.” Mel responded as she leaned against the wall next to where Macy was standing.

The empath’s jaw fell open, “ _Consequences of my act_ -” she blinked and tilted her head to Macy. “Can you believe her?”

Macy said nothing as she looked from the absurd choice of packing to a smug Mel, _back to the absurd choice of packing_ , and finally landing on an incredulous Maggie, “I thought… you were only going for _2_ days?” she teased.

A sputtered laugh came from beside her, “See, Maggie? Macy agrees. Thiis,” running an open hand in a small circle at the scene in front of her, “is a _lot_.”

The youngest Vera-Vaughn let out a grunt of frustration. “Ohh my god! There’s nothing wrong with wanting to be prepared!”

Out of the corner of her eye, Macy caught Mel biting back a smile. She shook her head and let out a small laugh then fixed her eyes on the pink luggage until it lifted easily off the ground. Quickly yet smoothly floating over the banister then down to the front door where it landed softly.

“Awe! Thanks, Mace!” Maggie beamed and gave the eldest Vera-Vaughn a hug, grateful for her _considerate_ sister. Passing by her _unhelpful_ sister, she stuck her tongue out and made her way down the stairs.

Choosing not to make eye-contact with the tiny-broody-pajama-wearing witch, Macy decided to follow behind sweet Maggie. “ _Okay, but_ ,” she heard Mel start.

Pushing herself off the wall to catch up with the two at the bottom of the stairs, she sucked her teeth, “You still have to find a way to get it down the front steps and into the car without Macy’s powers, remember? Lucy?”

Maggie’s face fell, “Oh, _shit.”_

The scientist thought on that for a moment then nodded in agreement, “She’s right. Even if Mel froze time for me to do it, it would look like it just appeared in the trunk.” She gave her youngest sister a sympathetic smile, “sorry, Maggs.”

The ~~little~~ middle Vera matched Maggie’s signature pout and began patting her softly on the shoulder. As Macy turned to make her way to the kitchen the doorbell sounded and Mel’s pout quickly disappear into a devious smile slowly whispering, “ _consequences.”_

 _Sisters,_ Macy mused, leaving the now bickering duo in the entryway to follow the sounds of sizzling and the smell of bacon. “Good morning, Harry,” she greeted, making a bee-line towards the coffeemaker only to pick up a nearly empty pot. “ _Seriously Mel?”_ she muttered under her breath as she started prepping a fresh one.

“Good morning,” the whitelighter replied cheerfully, shutting off the element and moving the skillet to the back burner, “did you sleep well?”

“Well enough,” the telekinetic opened a tin of coffee grinds and began shoveling a few tablespoons into a new filter, “just one of those nights whe-”, she hesitated, chewing her words as she readied the pot to brew then deciding to stop there. “Just one of those nights. How about you?”

Harry checked over his shoulder expecting Mel to enter as a quick escape into the kitchen-safe-haven from what _sounded_ like, a very loud and excited Laggie reunion. But no such time-witch was in sight. He finished plating the last of the bacon butties and turned to set the platter on the island.

“Quite well, despite a million questions about how this meeting will all play out.” He stood at the side of the counter and picked up a warm sandwich. “Now, how are you _actually_ feeling?”

Macy felt observant eyes on her back as she watched the pot begin to fill, begging it to brew faster. Eventually she took a deep breath and turned to face him, “Whatever do you mean?” a sarcastic smile playing at the corner of her lips. Harry simply raised his brow at her then nodded to the distant sounds of Mel’s voice coming in from the foyer.

Macy returned a dull expression that blinked away into a hopeless one, “Okay, _fine_.” stepping swiftly toward the island. She clasped one hand tightly over the other, placing them on the counter, elbows tight to her sides; her voice barely above a whisper, “I’ve been thinking about how Mel and I are in a _decent-_ ish place, but I still feel like we have trouble connecting.”

Her words were flat but picked up speed as she began to spiral, “And we haven’t said a thing about that time Demon Me threw her across the room or when _Source Flame Me_ used her as a human battering ram or sacrificed her or tried to choke her to death, or what the intentions behind _any_ of that even means. And the _mature_ thing to do would be to bring all this out into the open but I think I’ve established that I am, haa, not good at discussing things with tact especially when I’m talking to Mel. So, yes,” she flashed a distressed smile, “I am _very_ anxious about _all_ of this.”

Harry stared at his friend waiting to see if she had more to say. When nothing came, he put down the breakfast sandwich and offered a gentle smile, “She’s your sister, Macy. And while we both know first-hand, how ferocious she is, it’s worth it to note that she also loves fiercely and has proven time and again how deeply she loves her family, her sister; you.” He reached over to put a comforting hand over hers until she met his eyes.

Try as he might, he didn’t understand. “I’m not afraid of _her_ , Harry _._ I’m afraid of what _I’ve_ _done_ to her. And what _she’s done_ to me.” She pulled away and moved towards the cupboard, taking out a mug and finally pouring herself a cup of coffee.

He looked puzzled as he returned to his breakfast, repeating her words to himself, “Done to you.”

Macy shifted her eyes to the entryway where the previous laughter had died down. She could hear the very faint sounds of cars driving by, it seemed that the front door was wide open; maybe Mel _had_ decided to help Maggie in the end. Her stare lingered briefly in thought; _if I say these next words aloud, would it make me a pitiful person?_ She locked troubled eyes to kind ones, “Sometimes she makes me feel like-”

“ _Hey, do you guys have a minute?”_ Mel’s voice came before she seemingly _appeared_ in the kitchen, moving to meet them at the island.

Macy’s mouth snapped shut immediately as she stood up straight while Harry nearly dropped his bacon butty on the floor in surprise. He swallowed hard and gathered his composure, “Yes, of course, Melanie. What is it that you need?”

“Nothing, Maggie’s just heading out now and she wanted t-” tilting her head to the side, lightly furrowing her brow, her brain finally registering their abrupt reactions to her, “Um, everything okay?”

“Yeup! Yes. Everything is great!” Macy cursed herself for being _such_ a bad liar, “How’d uh, how’d Maggie make out with that suitcase?”

* * *

“I did it! And with minimal help! Go Maggs!” Maggie walked in just then as if she was summoned, hands on her hips and breathing hard.

“Congratulations, Maggie,” Harry said, looking passed the Vera’s now waiting for Lucy to arrive. “Lucy is…?”

“In the bathroom. It’s a long drive and she doesn’t want to make too many pitstops. So, I figured I’d squeeze in my goodbyes now!” She noticed a container of vegan sausages and hash browns that Harry had set aside for her on the counter, “Oh! Hare! You are literally the best witch advisor anyone could ask for.” She ran to wrap her arms around the man. “Thank you so much. I’ll see you Sunday. Have fun at your whitelighter conference!”

“Thank you, Maggie. You have fun on your trip. Remember, I can always come to you if you’re ever in need.”

“Oh god, if a demon shows up during my weekend getaway, I’m actually resigning from all magics.” gaining a chuckle from the room. She moved around Harry to her eldest sister and gave her a warm hug, “Bye, Mace! Have a good weekend doing whatever you’re doing!”

 _Trying to manage a panic attack at the thought working through family drama without anyone getting hurt? A solid weekend._ “I think I’m going to stay in and read, take a bubble bath, maybe go for a run, do my laundry, you know; self-care things.”

The empath drew back to look at her sister, knowing she was crossing boundaries by reading her mind but wanting to let Macy know that she was here for her. “Great! You have fun! I’m sure whatever you decide on doing will be healing.”

She went in for another hug, pulling tight and focusing her thoughts on her sister, taking a page out of Marisol’s book. “ _Macy, just breathe and remember; you’re better together, your differences are your strengths. And nothing is stronger than your sisterhood._ ”

The anxious air that engulfed her sister seemed to diminish ever so slightly. “ _Thank you, Maggie.”_

“Love ya, Mace!”

She grabbed her breakfast off the counter and walked towards Mel, taking her outstretched left hand with her right and swinging it back and forth. “Byyye, thanks for nothing!” she teased.

“Have fuuun!”

“ _Maggaaay! You ready, betch?”_ Lucy’s voice bellowed in from the front door.

Mel brought her in for a brief hug, “Be careful. Also, whatever you took out of my closet to bring with you without asking, better not have vomit on it when it comes back.”

“Ha, ha.” Maggie stepped back and scrunched up her face at the time-witch, “Okay, _fine_ it won’t.” Heading toward the front door to meet Lucy she called back “Love you!” before shutting the door behind her.


	4. melanie vera, i knew you had it in you

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Vera-Vaughn's are full of questions and Harry can hardly get in a word.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay, *i* have a lot of questions and decided to take it out in here.
> 
> also thank you so much for the kudos and comments!

Harry set his dishes down in the sink, “Please, do not hesitate to call out to me, I can assure you I will never be too busy to come to your aid.”

“Of course, Harry. But what could we possibly need? We are two thirds of the Charmed Ones and we _just_ defeated the Sacred Flame/Source of All Evil.” Mel said from her seat at the head of the kitchen table. “ _Who_ is going to try to fuck with us?”

“Well, I hardly think that level of egotistical self-confidence is necessary, _Miss. Vera_.” He sent a blank stare to Macy who returned a playful grin and a shrug.

Mel slumped back into her chair with a smug smile, “ _Go.”_ she urged, “You’ve been so excited about this! Don’t worry about us. We will be fine.”

Macy nodded her head in agreement, “She’s right, Harry. Mel and I can handle ourselves.”

He huffed in response to that, studying the scientist carefully. Although they never finished their earlier conversation, she seemed somewhat less apprehensive now. Surely, she still needed more time to discuss what was troubling her but with Mel sitting not five feet away, they most likely would not find the time to unpack anything further.

Needless to say, he was worried for his both of charges. Harry didn’t doubt their ability to take care of themselves or of one another; however, he _had_ just witnessed what a strained relationship between sisters can lead to. And while Macy and Mel were _not quite_ Charity and Fiona, couldn’t they be? Given the right or _wrong_ circumstances; their connection already so delicate.

How does one make a teachable moment on family bonds in a way that doesn’t force people into situations or conversations they don’t _want_ to be, or are not _ready_ to be a part of? How could he possibly make this easier or better for them? Would staying and acting as a ~~buffer~~ mediator be beneficial? Or would it stifle any chances they could have at being fully honest with one another? Perhaps, he conceded, this was just not his place. He needed to trust that at some point they would find a different kind of normal, where “I love you” was no longer a blood-tied obligation but instead a conscious and continuous choice.

“Very well,” he sighed, snapping his fingers to orb out of the kitchen then re-appearing mere seconds later with a ~~reasonably sized~~ duffle bag. He moved to a seat at the opposite end of the table, setting his bag down by his feet. Mel stared at him confused, her mouth hung open as if to ask something and though he waited, nothing came.

“Yes, Melanie?”

She smacked her lips and shook her head, “It’s uh, nothing,” deciding that whatever she was thinking was no longer important. “How are you feeling about this weekend?”

He eyed her momentarily, noting the quick redirection but choosing not to resist it, “Well, as you know, I have written many papers and taught countless lectures about dismantling dysfunctional systems. Now that’s happened and whitelighters have an entirely new beginning. We can _make it however_ and _include_ _whomever_ we want. It’s brilliant really; it’s all very exciting! Although there is an extensive amount of ground work we must do first which can be… tedious.”

“And there’s probably going to be a lot of questions about the new governing body.” Mel concluded.

“So, are we technically Elders or are we our own division of magical coven?” Macy chimed in bringing the platter to the table, setting an empty plate down in front of the time witch and taking seat of her own.

Mel sat up and grabbed a bun tossing a quick “thank you” to her sister. “I would like to think that we’re our own coven and not some kind of continuation of their tiresome aristocratic bureaucracy.” She turned to face Harry, “ _Are_ we Elders?”

“I’ve been thinking if we are, is there some sort of initiation we have to go through first?”

“Who would even administer that?”

Harry sat forward to answer; however, Mel continued over him, “Mm! I’ve been thinking about the hierarchy of power, you know? Like is the Power of Three equivalent to or greater than that of the Elders?”

Macy leaned on the table, “I think we proved that we are definitely more powerful than the Elders were; individually and collectively.”

“Huh. We’re kind of _OP,_ aren’t we?”

The telekinetic blew out a breath, “Well, three women of colour; a demon-witch, a time lord, and a magical therapist fulfilling an ancient prophecy to balance good and evil with their raw power alone? Yeah, they wouldn’t have stood a chance.” She picked up a bun and took a bite as Mel shrugged and nodded along to that.

The whitelighter cleared his throat, “Again, the ego in this room is just-”

Macy interrupted, “Oh!” Hastily swallowing the bit of bacon butty, “is the Charmed Ones prophecy strictly western lore?”

“Yeah, is there any other _Chosen One_ type prophecy that we should be aware of?” It seemed the sisters were finding a rhythm.

“What about different magic around the world? Do we have any kind of involvement outside of western magic?”

“Well, I suppos-” Harry tried again and of course was cut off. _Truly, this is starting to feel very much like a repeat of my introduction monologue._

“I would hope that we _don’t_ have any sort of power within any cultures we don’t fully know or understand.” Mel tore off a piece of bacon and shoved it in her mouth.

The eldest Vera-Vaughn pointed to her sister and bobbed her head in a _touché_ fashion, “That is a good point.” Taking half a beat before Harry could get in a single word, she started another round of questions. “Do you think it’s possible to create more whitelighters without the Elders?” “

Mel turned to Harry, “Do we have access to whitelighter magic?”

“Are they our responsibility now?”

“Do we have to choose them, give them powers, and wipe their memories?”

“Do you think that’s still necessary?”

“Mm, maybe that was just a bullshit Elder practice.” Harry motioned to object as a new question struck Mel, “Do whitelighters answer to us?”

The scientist sank back in her chair at the thought of that, “ _Answer to us…_ That’s sounds so _corporate_. I don’t know how comfortable I am with the idea of _controlling_ or _managing_ how other magical beings operate.” Silence fell over the room as they all digested the implications of _policing_ the use of magic; was this their new role?

“Ideally, the New Whitelighter Order would just govern themselves, right Harry? Additionally, I think if they _did_ answer to us, we would have seen much more of them within these last few weeks.” The time witch shot a jokingly sharp look to their whitelighter, “Or at least _invited_ us to their weekend conference.”

“Okay, at least that’s one less thing to worry about. What about other Elder-like beings? What does magical leadership around the world or even within different supernatural communities.”

The witches had surrounded themselves in a cloud of mystery and looked to their faithful advisor for clarity. The man was leaning back in his seat across the table, one leg settled over the other as he stared at them, speechless.

Macy waved a hand back and forth trying to break him from his stupor, “Harry?”

Finally, breaking stillness he laughed and ran a hand through his hair, feeling the beginnings of a slight headache. “Ladies, if this is what the weekend has in store for me, I am positively under-prepared.”

“Wait. Sorry. One more question-” Macy’s palms were face down on the table, as if bracing herself for the answer to come, “The Elders were the governing body of magic; like _ALL_ magic? All magical beings, creatures, classes; _all magic,_ magic?” Harry simply nodded in response and Macy’s jaw fell open, “There was a whole council of them, there are _three_ of us.”

Mel closed her eyes and rubbed her temples, “Did we really throw a party with a gaggle of magical folk and then _not_ ask _any questions_?”

The scientist stared at her almost forgotten bacon butty, picking it up to rip off a piece she most likely didn’t plan on eating, having lost her appetite. “I’m honestly reconsidering our acceptance to being the new magic authority. Are we ready for this? I mean, we _just_ survived me being The Source; which was _too much power_ and now, we’re the “natural choice leaders” _because_ of how powerful we are? A leader determined by whoever is the strongest, how can that be different from governing through fear?”

Given how scared she was of herself during her time as the Source Flame, Harry could see how conflicting this must be for her. “Macy, amidst all of the uncertainty, your collective capacity to lead and _care_ for magical beings is something I have absolute faith in. As I have said, the ground work will be tedious, but rebuilding always is. The important thing to keep in mind is that we are here for each other and in this together.”

Hearing his comforting words, she nodded her head but didn’t look up as if she was still going down some kind of internal rabbit hole of possibilities.

“And hey,” Mel ducked her head a little to catch Macy’s eyes and draw her gaze away from her plate, “We are the Charmed Ones; not the Elders, not the Source of All Evil or the Sacred Flame. Leadership isn’t always interchangeable with superiority and it doesn’t always look like _being in_ control; sometimes it’s about how you _share_ control. That is what’s different; we are building community not regulating it. No one is going to be scared of you, Macy.”

Macy returned a soft smile, “Thanks for saying that, Mel.”

Harry watched the scene in front of him; _Melanie Vera, I knew you had it in you. That was lovely._

After a reassuring nod they both turned back to their breakfast and the room fell quiet having run out of things to say.

 _This is mildly awkward. However, they do seem to be in a rather decent place._ Harry checked his pocket watch, “Right then, I must be off.” He picked up his bag and got to his feet, making his way around to the opposite end of the table to exchange goodbyes. “Ladies, have yourselves a restful weekend and remember-”

In unison the witches responded, “ _Stay vigilant._ ”

He narrowed his eyes at them, “No. I was actually going to say-”

This time mimicking his accent they replied, “ _Don’t hesitate to call out to me.”_

The whitelighter let out a deep sigh and rolled his eyes at their teasing, “Alright, well, I don’t see how simply  _caring_ and being extra cautious warrants this kind of mockery.” They laughed as he blew a raspberry, “Additionally, your accents are absolute rubbish.”


	5. you win, maggie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> maggie is a quadruple texter and maybe grilled cheeses are the best buffer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> writing about science is very hard.

 

 

 

> _Maggie 7:32pm: hey, have you talked to her yet?_
> 
> _Mel 7:35pm: Yes (:_
> 
> _Maggie 7:35pm: liar -_-_
> 
> _Mel 7:40pm: Maggie, we have the whole weekend I’m sure we’ll talk at some point._
> 
> _Maggie 7:41pm: i don’t believe you_
> 
> _Maggie 7:43pm: what did you and Macy do today?_
> 
> _Mel 7:44pm: I picked up an afternoon shift at The Haunt, got home about 15 minutes ago. I think she went to the lab to handle something, you’ll have to ask her._
> 
> _Maggie 7:45pm: mhmm, what are you two doing now?_
> 
> _Mel 7:45pm: I’m about to make something to eat. Mace is in her room._
> 
> _Maggie 7:46pm: that’s not bonding, mel._
> 
> _Maggie 7:50pm: are you for real rn?_
> 
> _Maggie 7:54pm: stop ignoring me. you know i’m right!_
> 
> _Maggie 7:58pm: hello?_
> 
> _Maggie 7:58pm: hellooo???_
> 
> _Maggie 7:58pm: HEELLOOOOOO_
> 
> _Missed call from Maggie 7:59pm_
> 
> _Maggie 7:59pm: seriously?_
> 
> _Maggie 7:59pm: i could be dead._
> 
> _Mel 8:00pm: OH. MY. GOD._
> 
> _Mel 8:00pm: STOP._
> 
> _Maggie 8:01pm: OH!_
> 
> _Maggie 8:01pm: ur alive!!_
> 
> _Maggie 8:01pm: gud._
> 
> _Maggie 8:01pm: u talk to her?_
> 
> _Mel 8:01pm: No. I was getting changed and now I’m cooking._
> 
> _Maggie 8:01pm: oh_
> 
> _Maggie 8:01pm: what u makin?_
> 
> _Mel 8:02pm: Grilled cheese._
> 
> _Maggie 8:02pm: classic_
> 
> _Maggie 8:07pm: so you like, REALLY don’t wanna hang out with her, huh?_
> 
> _Mel 8:08pm: Yes, I do. Relax. We’re just doing our own thing tonight._
> 
> _~~We actually had a really nice moment earlier today, you missed it~~_
> 
> _Maggie 8:08pm: you should ask her if she wants a grilled cheese too!_
> 
> _Mel 8:08pm: ~~Leave it alone Maggie~~_
> 
> _~~That’s actually a good idea, maybe I will~~_
> 
> _~~What if I say the wrong thing and she throws me again? It honestly hurt so much the first two times~~_
> 
> _~~What if she says “no”, then what~~_
> 
> _~~You were right, I’m bad at communicating my feelings.~~_
> 
> _~~What if I push her away more?~~_
> 
> _~~Maybe we do need a buffer~~_
> 
> _~~Oh my god helppppppppp~~_
> 
> _Mel 8:12pm: you made me burn my grilled cheese >:(_
> 
> _Maggie 8:12pm: hah! you deserve it._
> 
> _Maggie 8:13pm: okay, i’m sorry, nobody deserves that._
> 
> _Maggie 8:13pm: anyway, i have to go!! i’ll check back in later tonight!_
> 
> _Maggie 8:14pm: GO BOND!_

Mel let out a heavy sigh, Maggie was right (again), she _did_ deserve this. She stared down at the sad result of hesitating to say what she wanted, then backed out of the chat with Maggie. Her thumb hovered over her older sister’s name until she finally decided that maybe it _was_ time to stop running away from a chance to connect with her.

 

 

> _Mel 8:15pm: Hey, are you hungry?_

She set down her phone to cut the abysmal thing diagonally. _It’s grilled cheese, I don’t know what I’m so sad about, it’ll still taste good._ Picking up a half and dipping it into a tiny dish of hot sauce she took a bite and promptly grimaced, _uh-uh. Nope. Not good._ Her phone buzzed as she spat into a napkin.

 

 

 

> _Macy 8:16pm: I could eat._
> 
> _Mel 8:16pm: How hungry are you?_
> 
> _Macy 8:17pm: In the mood for something small._
> 
> _Mel 8:17pm: Do you want a grilled cheese? Promise I won’t burn it._
> 
> _Macy 8:17pm: Yesss. Be down in a bit!_

Mel was buttering four new slices of bread when Macy walked in about five minutes later. Concern flooded her face as she sniffed around a couple of times while taking a seat at the island.

“I burnt one of them already. It was not salvageable.” The time-witch said before she could ask and Macy chuckled at the burnt evidence by the sink. Mel felt the _tiniest_ bit at ease. “So um, how was your day?”

“Oh, it was… _busy_. The lab is still in the midst of overturning management; with Dr. Julia’s death and Alister Caine’s “sudden disappearance”, there’s just a lot of human cleanup for inexplicable magical mishaps and with the Elders gone…” she trailed off.

Mel nodded, understanding what she meant, “Major coverups like this are harder to maintain and b.s. your way through.”

“Exactly. The last few weeks have been this bizarre limbo; not really knowing who is in charge or what this means for our jobs. It’s stressful; not having a solid framework or answers.”

Slowly putting the bread into the pan, Mel noted how difficult and frustrating this was for Macy. There was definitely a shortage of structure and guidance in all aspects of the scientist’s life right now; on top of being unable to separate professional from magical from personal; _on top_ of all the hell the rest of this past year had brought. “That sounds _very_ familiar.” She turned and leaned against the counter next to the stove.

“Hah, yeeeah.”

“And as a manager in the lab, are people expecting you to provide the framework and the answers?”

Macy visibly tensed at the question and returned an uneasy nod, “Yes and no? It’s like this simultaneous pull to lead and pushback against my ability to do so.”

Mel didn’t need an empaths powers to know that something painful had infiltrated Macy’s thoughts. Retreating into herself a little she went on, “Galvin used to make me feel like I was killing it at work and Dr. Julia knew about me and magic and demons. It was nice, you know? I didn’t have to hide who I was and I had people in my corner; who believed in me and who I could lean on. But it’s not like I have them anymore. Now I’m alone. Again.”

Mel stared at her troubled sister, she knew there was some comforting thing she could say but this time, words were failing her. Instead she moved toward the island and put a gentle hand over her sister’s, giving it a gentle squeeze. “I’m sorry, Mace. That sounds really hard.”

Looking around the kitchen, she zeroed in on a bottle of red wine that Leon had gifted them. “ _Alcohol is a great buffer!”_ Maggie’s voice rang clear in her ears, _Ugh! Fine. You win, Maggie._ She gave Macy’s hand another soft squeeze then made her way over to the hutch, pulling out two glasses and grabbing the bottle.

“Okay, uh, here,” she said as she returned and placed the items in front her sister then abruptly stepped to the stove, “Oh, shit. PLEASE don’t be ruined.” Flipping the bread cautiously and sighing with relief as they were perfectly browned. “How many slices of cheese do you want?”

“It’s a two slices kind of night.”

Smiling back at that, Mel obliged, “Good call.” Adding two to each sandwich.

“Look at that, it’s also…” Macy picked up the bottle and filled each glass generously, “wine o’clock.” waiting for Mel to join her before taking a sip.

Watching Mel’s grilled cheese process, curiosity suddenly took over her previously somber face, “Okay, I know we’ve had these powers for almost a year but now I’m thinking about how they _actually_ work…” The time-witch looked back at her with interest, “If- if you can freeze time, could you stop that from burning?”

In the middle of flipping one Mel faltered, a little confused by the question, “What do you mean?”

“If you froze time right now, would the heat that’s already been generated immediately cease to exist? Do objects retain heat or continue to burn regardless if time is moving or not?”

“I, uh, I don’t really know?” They stared at each other for a moment before dragging their eyes to the pan then back to each other with curious smiles, “Let’s find out.” She sucked in a breath and air in the room seemed to stand still. Mel moved the pan out of the way exposing a stovetop flame that stood as if the pan remained above it. She held her hand over the element, “it’s still hot.”

The scientist made her way over and mirrored the action, “Huh, interesting- wait, don’t _touch_ it, what if it-”

Already making contact and wincing with pain, Macy narrowed her eyes and finished her sentence, “ _burns you_.”

The younger Vera returned the side-eye then smiled, “It was… for _science_.” Macy rolled her eyes in response and Mel continued. “Okay so, if it still hurts, can it still burn?” She placed the pan back over the flame and went to grab both glasses off the counter, giving one to her lab partner.

“Thank you.” Lifting the glass for a small toast, “To _science_.”

“To science.” She withdrew her glass before they could clink: _And to never feeling alone again._ The words died in her throat as she searched for an alternative, “And to finding the new normal; in the lab _and_ in magic.” Offering another toast and earning a thankful smile.

“Mm, to finding _the new normal_.” Their glasses made a soft clink and after a swig the telekinetic looked down at the stove, “You think it’s cooking?”

Picking up the spatula and gingerly lifting the sandwich to check underneath “Huh, maybe? Kind of? Let’s give it a little more _non-time_.” Macy nodded in agreement and they both returned to their wine.

On top of the stale air, an awkward stillness swept over the room as they both thought of things to talk about that wasn’t The Thing™ they needed to talk about. Finally, Macy broke the silence “What were you going to ask Harry this morning before he left?”

Combing through her memories for earlier that day until she landed on the visual of the whitelighter disappearing and reappearing with a packed bag, “Oh, hah. I was just wondering why he bothered to pack a bag? I mean, he can come and go whenever and wherever he pleases. So, what would he need a bag for or why even go away for the weekend?”

Macy’s eyebrows shot up in surprise, “I was also thinking that!”

“Right?”

“Teleportation is one of the most practical powers you could have; save on all forms of transportation, save on time, save on money, reduce gas emissions, go literally _anywhere_ ; all with a snap of your fingers!”

“And yet, he packed a whole bag, for what?” Mel peaked under the grilled cheese again, “Mm, not yet.”

“So why not ask him?”

“I figured that maybe _practically_ he doesn’t _need_ to leave for the weekend, but it’s possible he just needed a to stay somewhere not here for a bit. Which is fair.”

“That is true.” Macy nodded and took a sip of her wine.

Lightly tapping the spatula on the grilled cheese, Mel guessed it was her turn to ask a question, “What were you and Harry talking about this morning?”

Macy hesitated, “We were, uh,” a dry cough, “um, talking about s-something he said… or uh, didn’t _say_ a few weeks ago.” Unable to come up with a lie she quickly settled for something that was true to a certain extent.

Mel’s heart sank, something telling her that this _must_ be a lie, but if their conversation wasn’t meant for her ears then she knew she shouldn’t push. _Don’t be overbearing._

For reasons unknown, her sister continued, “It was when I was the Source and I could read minds. He thought this thing that could be… complicated?”

 _Ooooo, maybe not a lie? Forget the science!_ She turned to look at the telekinetic, “Oh, really?”

“Uh, haaha, yeah.”

Noticing a light flush sneaking up to Macy’s cheeks, Mel looked back to the pan and tried to sound casual and disinterested, “Like what?”

“I don’t know, that he… maybe has, _feelings_? For me?”

Mel’s eyes widened in absolute shock, almost spraining her neck with how swiftly she turned to face her sister, “HAR-”

“WAITDON’TYELLHISNAME!” Macy interrupted in a slight panic before she could get out his name and Mel scrambled to recover.

“RRYyyoompo…lompolopo…lous?”

Standing completely frozen in place except their eyes, that bounced around the kitchen in anticipation of his arrival. When no evidence of the whitelighter was found, Macy’s shoulders fell in relief, “Harryompolompolopolous?”

“It’s the best I could do with so little time.” They both shrugged, it was clear that the Vera-Vaughn’s needed to get better at thinking on their feet. “So, what do we do with this information?”

“ _We_ don’t do anything.” Macy lifted her glass to her lips and downed the rest of its contents, swallowing hard then coming up for air, “ _I_ will…  keep pushing that to the bottom of my list of things to worry about and _you_ should check on _that_.” Gesturing to the almost forgotten experiment.

“Riiiight. Also, I know this kind of goes without saying, but I won’t say anything to Harry and I’m not one to meddle.” Mel said, pivoting slowly to face the pan.

“I know, Mel, but I appreciate you saying so anyway.”

“Thanks for umm, sharing that with me.” She flipped one of the grilled cheeses over revealing pale buttered bread, “Oh.” Mel flipped it back over, letting out a breath the room began buzzing again.

“Huh,” Macy stayed standing by the stove watching the pan as Mel filled the wine glass for her, “Thank you. I don’t know what I expected, really. I mean, the fact that you can stop time and still be able to move, breathe, see, hear, and not freeze to death is already pretty indicative of defying all laws of nature and physics; _of course_ , you could stop a grilled cheese from burning. But also, the open flame itself could still burn you even while frozen so…”

Mel watched the scientist go from thinking out loud to trailing off into inaudible rant, “Conclusion?”

Macy was deep in thought as she took a long swig and swallowed, “ _Magic.”_

She laughed at that, “You still want to try to figure out this whole witchcraft thing on a molecular level and win a fricken Nobel Prize or what?”

The eldest Vera-Vaughn let out a loud laugh, “It’s sweet and also annoying you remember I said that.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> re: writing about science is hard: and that's why when people create stories about magic, they ignore all the science (or at least most of it)!!!!! as i did.
> 
> i imagine that maggie knows how much improper grammar and incorrect spelling annoys mel so she does it when she wants to be extra annoying LOL.


	6. sorry for being annoying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little flashback and a little flash-forward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the hiatus! I'm trying to make my way back! Thank you so much for reading, for your kudos and your encouraging comments!

_6 days earlier:_

_“Glamping? What even is that?”_

_“H–it’s like- haah- camping except with- h-amenities.” Maggie huffed out between shallow breaths, scrambling to make a sharp right after her sister._

_Joining Macy for a hellishly early morning run to talk seemed like a great idea last night; however, having her sheets magically removed, exposing her to the cold at 5am on a Sunday made it very clear that this was irrefutably a bad decision._

_“Okay, amenities like what?”_

Effortless. It’s so early. How is she like this? Who wakes up at this time to do this shit? (Half)demons that’s who.

_“Like camping but in luxury kinda tents – a/c, heating, running water, showers, electricity-”_

_“So, like a hotel in the forest?”_

_“Ha ha – can we slow down, please? What are we trying to prove here?”_

_“Hey,_ you _said you wanted to run with me so, we’re running!”_

_Maggie let out a painful groan._

_“Anyway,” continuing with a smile, “as bougie as that sounds, it also seems very relaxing; fresh air, a change in scenery, indulgence, and -hopefully- no demons! You deserve a break, Maggs.”_

_“Tha-AAH,” she side stepped some sort of poop on the path then cleared her throat, trying again, “thanks. I just wanted to give you a heads up that it’s like,_ this weekend _. Same time Harry is out of town.”_

_“Oh,” Macy slowed to a walk, “o-okay, yeah, thank you for telling me.”_

_“HAAAH THANK GOD!” tumbling into her sister’s new pace and heavily breathing in the change of air. She keeled over, hands on her knees for support and struggled through her next words, “H-okay, I can_ feel _your h-anxiety, Mace. And I want h-you to know that I-” a deep breath, “can stay h-if you want me to!”_

_“No, no. I meant what I said; you deserve a break and sooner is always better than later.”_

_“Are you sure?” Standing up straight and putting her hands on her hips, “I don’t want to give you more to stress about, you know with_ everything _that’s happened these last few weeks…”_

_Macy scoffed, “I have my ways of dealing with stress,” she said before Maggie could even broach the subject of their family._

_“Ohh, I can tell.” She replied, still struggling to catch her breath and wiping the sweat off her forehead._

_“Exactly! I’ll be fine!” she lightly slapped Maggie’s arm and hopped into a faster stride, “C’mon! We’re only halfway!”_

_“Mace! Wait! Let’s just breathe! Heey! I’m not talking about midnight bubble bathing or running your way through living with our sister!” She called out only to get a flippant wave back. Grumbling to herself before begrudgingly breaking into a sprint after the wily demon-witch. Finally catching the crook of her sisters’ elbow and bringing her to a stop, “Mace, can we just talk? Please?”_

_“We can run and talk,” Macy stated flatly while swatting the hand away._

_Maggie chose to ignore that, hoping her very heavy breathing would be enough to prove that was not a possibility, “Mace, are you okay spending the weekend with Mel?”_

_“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?”_

_A skeptical stare._

_“If I had anything to say about that, we could talk about it, but I don’t. Sooo,” The scientist’s casual tone would’ve been convincing had she not been talking to_ the _Margarita Emilia Vera; Charmed Empath and all-knowing sister._

_“Yeah?”_

_“Yeah.” She tried to break for another run but Maggie caught her by the shoulder this time, spinning her around to meet a concerned gaze._

_“I’m gonna be so mad if I come home Sunday night to find a Mel shaped hole in the wall.”_

_“Maggie, please. There won’t be.”_

_“Uh-huh. Have either of you tried to talk about what happened?”_

_“Can we just get back to running?” Getting skittish with the subject, she began jogging in a circle around Maggie, “Try breathing in through your nose and out through your mou-”_

_“Can you just be honest with me?” reaching out to still her movement causing the telekinetic to flinch away._

_“Don’t.” she warned, “Please.”_

_“I’m sorry, I’m not trying get into your head, I just…” sighing in defeat as she spotted a nearby bench, walking swiftly toward it, “I don’t understand what’s happening between you two,” she said and slumped onto the wooden oasis._

_Macy let out a deep sigh of her own and sluggishly walked over to join the empath._

_“Yeah. I don’t really understand what’s happening between us either.” Now fidgeting lightly with the cuffs of her sweater._

_“Do you want to talk about why that is?”_

_The eldest Vera-Vaughn sat silently, seemingly wrestling with herself._

_After giving her sister a few moments, Maggie decided that if Macy wasn’t ready to share, then she would give it a try first._

_“Okay, so,” breaking the quiet, “I know I like to think that I’ve got complete control over my powers, like some freakin’ Charmed protégé, but in reality, we’re all still baby witches at this, right? And these last few weeks I’ve learned I’m not exactly all that spectacular at keeping my powers in check.”_

_Macy’s face fell and Maggie hurried to recover, “I’m not reading your thoughts,_ per se _. I’m doing my best to respect your privacy with that, but you’re both making it_ really _difficult.”_

_The scientist shifted awkwardly in her seat as Maggie gathered her thoughts._

_“Okay, umm, you know how sound travels through the floors and the walls of a house? It’s like that except as an empath, it’s with your thoughts and feelings. Everything is sort of muffled so I can’t_ exactly _make out what you’re saying, but it’s loud enough that I can feel the vibrations of it. Constantly. And it’s kind of… well, it’s annoying to say the least.”_

 _She felt their shoulders bump together, “Sorry for being_ annoying.” _They shared a small laugh before she went on, “But really, I_ am _sorry, Maggie. I should’ve thought about how our relationship could be affecting you.”_

_“Trust me, it’s no run in the park.” Another small laugh, “Can I be honest with you?”_

_“Always." There was that signature big sister Macy smile._

_“Aside from annoying, it’s also just so… disappointing, Mace.”_

_The eldest Vera-Vaughn was back to fidgeting with her sleeves._

_“Like sure, we defeated the Source Flame together with_ sisterly love – the Power of Three _– whatever; but I can_ feel _a missing link. And I_ know _you feel it, too. A-and look,” turning to face her sister now, “you don’t have to talk to me about your relationship with Mel. I’m sorry for being so pushy, like it’s really not any of my business. And obviously it's not just on you to fix - you're just so much easier to talk to about literally anything - But anyway, I hope that you’ll both take this weekend to hash out whatever you need to so we can get to a place where_ demons _are my biggest headache and not my freaking sisters.”_

_“That doesn’t seem like too much to ask for.”_

_“Yeah, that’s what I thought, too.” Maggie laughed and bumped their shoulders together again, “But hey, I would love to stay and support both of you if that’s what-”_

_“No, seriously. Go! Take a break! Have fun! Be_ anywhere _but here for a bit!”_

_“Mmm, I’ll think about it.”_

_“Good.”_

_After a long pause Maggie looked around them, “So, are we really only halfway through this route?”_

_“Yup.”_

_“Can you carry me? Telekinetically?”_

_Macy looked up in thought, then blew out a raspberry, “I could.”_

_“Really?”_

_“But I won’t. Oh, come on, don’t give me that look!” patting the empath's knee and jumping to her feet, “You got your break_ and _your talk, I want my run!”_

* * *

 

_Saturday, 2:37am_

Maggie awoke to an intense buzzing coming from the side of her bed. A swarm of bees? AGAIN? No, just her phone. She picked it up, squinting into the impossibly bright screen _; incoming video call from Macy._

_No. Sleep._

She declined the call and dropped it face down beside her pillow. Turning over and snuggling her comforter close to her face, breathing in the coziness. Her sluggish brain still thinking some half-cooked thinks; _could be important – mmno – they’re fine – call in the morning._

Almost immediately after that thought flew away, the loud buzzing started up again. She flipped over and blinked at the screen; _incoming video call from Mel._

_No. SLEEP._

Her thumb hovered over the red icon for a moment; _what if they_ are _in trouble?_ Then deciding that if anything, it would make more sense to call Harry first; as he could get to their side instantly. Additionally, what could she possibly do for them this far away anyway? She declined the call. Again, dropping the brick down by the side of her pillow.

She closed her eyes once more and began drifting off to her precious sleep. Foiled yet again as another round of earth shattering, peace disturbing phone vibrating ensued _; incoming video call from Macy._

Whining to herself she grabbed her phone, completely ready to snap at either of them for calling this late at night but stopping herself to think that _maybe_ they _might actually_ need her. Damn, her soft heart! She flicked on the floor lamp next to her bed and quickly swiped the green icon to the right revealing a stunned and happy Mel.

“MAGGIIIEEEE! HIIIII!” While the reception was a little spotty it wasn’t terrible; Maggie could definitely tell that Mel’s eyes were glazed over.

“OH! DID SHE ANSWER?” Why were they speaking _so_ loud?

“YEAH! LOOK!” Shifting the phone to her left and her whole upper body to the right, a distant Macy peaked over Mel’s shoulder also looking shocked and happy.

“HIIII MAGGIE!” She waved excitedly.

They were in the kitchen, that’s for sure. There was a lot of rustling sounds on Mel’s part and clattering happening in the background, seemingly from Macy, also music; very loud, unidentified music. Maggie could tell from the angle that Macy was at the island and Mel was… laying on the kitchen table?

“SO,” the middle Vera’s face coming into view again, “you’ll answer a call fromMACY but youwon’t answerME? Know what? That’scool. I get that. Macy’sso cool.”

“YOU’RESO COOL.”

“No. Noope.” Looking back over her left shoulder at the baking scientist, “You’rethe cool one!”

“Umm, hi? Are you guys okay?” Blinking wildly, was this a dream? Was she dreaming right now? “Are you two drunk?”

Mel twisted back to face the camera and sputtered out a laugh, “No. no, n-”

“Why are you LYING?”

Turning around again she screamed out, “NARC.”

A pause, Mel must have made a face or said something only Macy could hear because an eruption of lively laughter came through from both of them.

Maggie couldn’t believe what she was seeing or hearing, totally worth it to wake up at this ungodly hour. They’re bonding! What a treat! “What are you two doing?”

“I’mbaking a chocolate soufflééééééé.”

“Oh, god. It’s like, almost 3am. Why?”


	7. we should really keep it light

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Macy and Mel start to get a good buzz on while chatting about life and things.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> content note: mentions of death, specifically about Macy finding Dr. Julia and Elder Bari's bodies.   
> thank you again, for reading and commenting and kudos <3

Friday, 9:30pm

Macy was approximately two and a half _generous_ glasses of Satyr wine in, demon side sound asleep and feeling just peachy. She carefully sat back on her heel and drew the other knee up to her chest, glass in one hand, making sure not to spill a single drop, “Alright, I told you about _my_ sad work day, _so_ tell me about your day at The Haunt?” she propped her elbow up on the back of the living room couch and rested her head against her fist.

Mel put the almost empty bottle of wine on the coffee table then settled into the opposite end of the sofa with a full glass of her own, bringing her legs up and crossing them comfortably, “I mean, it could’ve had 100% less rude entitled cis-het white men taking up space in my gay bar…”

“The Haunt is a Gay Bar?”

“It is, yes.” the time-witch replied matter-of-factly.

“Oh, what! That’s great! Since always?”

“Since I started working there and decided that it would henceforth be known as a gay bar.” She flashed a playful smile.

“Pfft,” Macy laughed, “okay, I see _._ So, how many entitled white guys is too many?”

“Mm, one is already significantly more than there should be.”

The eldest Vera-Vaughn rolled her eyes playfully, “Yea-I mea-well-” shrugging in agreement, “Yeah! Yup. Totally. How do you deal with them?”

“Professionally or personally?”

“Hmm, professionally.”

“Uh. Okay, let me just say first that I cannot be held accountable for what my face does when men are terrible and annoying, not even in a professional capacity, you know this. I do _make an effort_ to smile through it, but it **will** quickly become that passive aggressive Daenerys meme and then… I don’t know? Most of the time I black out. Something just takes over and when I come to, they’re gone.”

Macy’s jaw fell open, “Mel!”

“I’m kidding, I'm kidding! I try to work around their attitudes as much as I can, honestly. But it’s way too exhausting to endure, soo I usually express that I don’t appreciate their tone and that they should take their business and male entitlement _and_ arrogance elsewhere.”

“Have I ever told you that I admire your transparency?”

“Thank you! I can’t say everyone is always so appreciative it.”

“Do they end up leaving?”

“Most of the time, yeah. The ones who decide to stay usually change their tune.” Mel adjusted in her seat to mirror Macy’s snug position, leaning her head against her fist. “What about you? How do you deal with men’s rudeness and entitlement in a professional setting?

“Mm, I try to be very careful and concise with my words.”

“What’s an example of that?”

The scientist took a slow sip of her wine in thought, gulping it down and smacking her lips when she found the right memory, “Did I ever tell you about that thiiing with Galvin after Summer broke up with him?”

“No? What did he do?”

“He was just being very curt with me; when I would ask him questions about work or just talking to him; his anger was misplaced and he knew that after though, which was good!”

“And what did you say?”

Macy looked up to the ceiling as she recalled the grand slam, “Something along the lines of, “ _There is no version of this relationship where you_ ever _get to speak to me like that”.”_

Her sister stared at her in awe for a long beat before shaking her head and smiling wildly to herself, “Macy, that is just so,” looking to her and gesturing a chef’s kiss, “mm, that is _beautiful_.”

She hid her bashful smile behind her wine. “Thank you. It felt really good to be so direct.”

“I bet it did!”

“Okay, now what about personally? What’s the Melanie Vera Guide to shutting down rude and entitled men?”

“Pre or post magic?”

“Ooooh – I like that you give me so much to work with! – Okay, I’ve known you since we got our powers so what would pre magic Mel do?”

“HAH, you know I’m an _act now think later_ kind of person; I think I have always had a habit of running my mouth and throwing punches. So, I guess that answers how past Mel would deal. I guess I’m just a bitch.”

Macy was suddenly aware of how warm she was. When did the room get so warm? Her whole body felt like a radiator; she could feel the blush on her cheeks and her thought to speech filter starting to loosen, “You _are_ a bitch.”

Her sisters’ bouncy smile melted but Macy blew passed it, “A powerful bitch. And weak men just can’t handle powerful bitches.”

Mel looked down at her glass to hide her smile.

“Has anyone ever complained about you?”

“Oh, multiple times, but management is pretty cool when it comes to making sure our staff is being respected. Besides, they don’t want assholes in our bar. Which is one of the reasons I love The Haunt. But anyway, back to how my day went! Over all, it wasn’t that bad for a Friday; I made a lot of drinks, made a lot of tips, talked to some interesting people, bussed some tables, you know, the ushe. I’ve definitely had worse days in terms of customer interactions and tips, that’s for sure.”

“Mmm, true…” Macy took the natural lull in conversation to think about what she didn’t know about Mel; what did she even like? What was her middle name? How was she as a teen? What was her relationship with Ray like? Maybe the alcohol was bringing out all this genuine interest and curiosity, coupled with the courage to ask, or _maybe_ it was serving as a distraction from actually getting to the bottom of what was hindering their friendship. At this point in the evening she went with the former, as it required less self-reflection and frankly, was more fun, “Tell me about your worst day at work.”

Mid drink, Mel slowly lowered her glass and swallowed hard, “Like, in _life_? Or at The Haunt?”

“Um, right, I guess that is a very broad question! Let’s start at the Haunt, and then we’ll work backwards and maybe even dip into different timelines- if you want.”

“Oh god.”

The scientist held her breath briefly, unsure if her sister would be willing to play along.

“Okay, um… the worst work day I’ve ever had at the Haunt…” Mel started conjuring up memories and didn’t seem to notice the way Macy deflated with relief, “was probably working Niko and Greta’s bachelorette party.”

Macy grimaced and sucked in air through her teeth at the hurt that was about to come. She noted the way Mel avoided eye contact, choosing instead to focus on a button on the couch, turning it between her thumb and forefinger.

“Yeah. It wasn’t because of any rude guests or bad tips or men; everything about that history rewriting spell was just _so painful.”_

Macy furrowed her brow; as if trying to nurse a broken heart wasn’t enough, the Elder’s ruling and lack of guidance pushed Mel to take away another woman’s choice. Although they hardly spoke about it, she knew it must be an incredible weight to bear, “I’m so sorry, Mel.”

The time-witch shrugged and stopped fidgeting with the button, moving her eyes to her glass to tap idly at the rim then downing the rest of her drink, “Anyway, your turn. What was your worst day at the lab?” She picked up the bottle and emptied it into her chalice.

Surprised by how quickly the conversation turned around Macy rubbed the pads of her fingers to her forehead in thought and exhaled heavily, “Okay, are we including magical or demonic casualties?”

“Umm, I don’t know, this was your question.”

They narrowed their eyes for a moment in thought before Mel decided and quickly spoke first, “No, before you say it; no, you can’t count finding a body as the worst day at work you’ve ever had.”

“Oh, come on!”

“No.”

“It’s my question though!”

“Nuh-uh.”

“Why not?”

“Because I am _not_ equipped with the skills to discuss how serious and traumatizing that probably was for you and we should really keep it light.”

“You’re the one talking about working the bachelorette party for your non-girlfriend and her non-ex-fiancé while carrying the burden of a love _and_ a heartache from a timeline she didn’t even know existed because you rewrote her life without her consent. How is that _light_?”

“Those are two _completely_ different things!”

“I don’t think so.”

“What do you mean?!” Mel was giggling through her words, probably at how ridiculous this conversation was, “Repercussions of a forced history rewriting spell versus finding a dead body? Macy, those are not the same!”

“I’m sweating!” Macy made a sharp left in conversation and was giggling now, too, “Are you sweating? Why is it so _hot_ in here?”

The younger Vera burst into a fit of laughter, “Are you o-kay?”

“I’m good! I’m fine! I swear! I just! I haven’t had a whole lot of sleep and this wine must be hitting me hard and fast. And I’m just _sweating_!”

Mel set her glass down on the coffee table and rushed to her feet, “We need to stay hydrated!” Bolting down the hall and into the kitchen. She returned a minute later with two glasses of water, setting one down by Macy and the other next to her wine then stood still for a second, “I want …snacks. Do you want snacks? I’m going to get snacks.”

She left the room again and after a few minutes of rustling she came back with two bags of chips, a half-eaten bag of pretzels, a Ziplock bag of salted cashews, and another bottle of wine.

Macy looked at the haul Mel was dumping on the coffee table in surprise, “I thought we needed to stay hydrated?”

“I know, but also? I want salt.” She tore open the bag of chips and collapsed back into her spot on the couch.

“Well, I’m not gonna fight with that logic,” she grabbed the bag of pretzels and fished one out, shoving it into her mouth and chewing around her words, “Anyway, as I was saying; the worst work day I ever had at the lab was that time Galvin and I found Dr. Julia in the trunk of her car.”

They stared at each other, nothing but the sounds of their chewing filled the room until Mel finally spoke, breaking the quiet, “Macy, what – and I cannot stress this enough – the actual fuck?”

“Yeah, you know what?” She smacked her lips, “Hearing it out loud makes it sound _much_ worse than it sounded in my head.” She finished the rest of her drink while Mel laughed and went to work on opening the second bottle.

“So, um,” Mel was trying to be serious now as she filled up Macy’s glass, “how was that experience for you?”

“Not good, that’s for sure. Somehow different but _just_ as awful as when I found Elder Bari in the attic.”

A long, awkward, drawn out pause swept over the room again until they both started blabbing over each other.

“Yeah, nope-”

“Yup-”

“No-”

“Uh-huh-”

 _“This_ is why we needed to keep it light, Mace!”

“You’re totally right-”

“I am not equipped for this-”

“This can’t be our life-”

“I need more wine.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> wanna yell with me on tumblr about how they haven't released the promo yet?  
> also if you have anything specific you would love to read mel and macy drunkenly talk about, please share it with me and i will try to incorporate it!  
> https://maarte-ako.tumblr.com/ask


	8. hair of dog

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this whole chapter is just shenanigans :)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you Ana for prompting me to post chapter by chapter :*  
> and thank you all so so much for reading and for commenting and for the kudos!  
> i didn't add any of your suggestions in this one but i WILL be sprinkling them here and there in later chapters!  
> enjoy :)

Saturday morning, time unknown.

Macy struggled to blink heavy lids open into direct sunlight. Upon waking up, she could only really register a handful of things; 1) sunlight was dreadful, 2) sound was dreadful, 3) she had made it into a bed – if only just barely – 4) it was her own, and 5) _sound was dreadful_ and _loud_ and _incessant_ and coming from _somewhere_ in this room of hers.

She slapped her hands around herself haphazardly in search of her phone. Unable to feel the device immediately she sat up and lazily rubbed the pads of her fingers at her eyes. She pushed a mass of curls away from her face, cursing her past self for being too drunk to wrap her hair, then scanned the bed as well as her room for her phone. Everything began to sway slightly and a light pounding chose this time to settle in at her temples and forehead.

Dropping her head into her hands, she contemplated laying back down to sleep the day away but that damned ringing would not allow that to happen anytime soon. Sighing heavily, she lifted her head back up and toward the sound, following it over the edge of her bed and spotting the source face down on the floor in front of her nightstand. Slinking out from under the blankets and onto the ground, she picked it up.

_9:20am – 9:15am ALARM – Snooze – Dismiss_

She swiped to dismiss the alarm, breathing in the quiet but grimacing at the lingering taste of alcohol. After swallowing back a silent gag she began briefly skimming her notifications. _3 new messages from Maggie, 17 new messages from Vera-Vera-Vaughn Sisterhood, Low battery 3% remaining._ Macy reached for the charging cable on the nightstand and plugged in the device, leaving it and it’s messages in favour of brushing the stale feeling out of her mouth and washing away the crust around her eyes. She crawled on all fours toward her open door, using the handle to help her stand and step into the hallway.

-

_10:40pm-ish_

_“Never have I everrrrr shop...lifted.”_

_Mel scoffed, “that’s too EASY.” lifting the half empty bottle of wine to her lips, she took a sip._

_The pair had thrown out the idea of using glasses and couches, choosing instead to sit on the floor and drink straight from the bottle. Mel’s back was against the couch facing Macy on the other side of the coffee table, the remains of their snacks littered around them._

_“I’m surprised… but I know that I shouldn’t be.”_

_“Mace, Macyyyy, whaddo I have to do to prove to you that I am, at my core, a fuckin’ punk?”_

_“Ohhh mygod.” The scientist chuckled and plucked a cashew off the table, “Okayyy, punk,” tossing the small nut lightly hitting Mel’s forehead before falling into her lap._

_“Hey!” Mel snorted, quickly picking it up, “Whateverr, nerd,” casting it back at her sister._

_Macy ignored how it bounced off her sternum, “I couldnever think of STEALING something. What could you have possibly needed so bad you had to TAKE it?”_

_“I dunno, sometimes itsnot even about the thing, it’sabout what it stands for. Like, why would I pay some billion-dollar corporation for something like, I dunno, water? Or tampons? Or pants-”_

_“I feel like, one of those things isnot like the other-”_

_“D’you want pizza? I wan pizza”_

_“Oooh, yeah. Yes.”_

_“Mkay, I’m gonna order it.” Mel snatched her phone off the couch and opens up an app to start building their order, “mmmmmokay whaddo you want on it?”_

_“Pineapples.”_

_Stopping her movements, she looks up from her screen, “No. Tell me you’re not!”_

_“Not what?”_

_“A pineapples-on-pizza person!”_

_“What? Mel, it’s so good!”_

_“It’s actually 100% unacceptable.”_

_“_ Actually, _you don’t know what you’re talking about.”_

 _“Ughh,” shaking her head to herself and classically rolling her eyes, she looks back down to her screen, “Never mind, I don’t want to get into it. It’s fine, you can have your pineapples on_ half _of it.”_

_“Good. Thank you.”_

_“Uh-huh, whatever. What else do-you want?”_

_“Ham. And y’know what? Throw some red onions on there also.”_

_“Okayyyy, what. Is your_ problem?”

 _“Why are you_ attacking _me right nowwww?”_

_“Macy, take a look at your life, take a look at your choices.”_

_“Okay, what’s on your half, Ms. Pizza Elitist?”_

_“_ Normal things; _pepperoni, mushroom, tomato…”_

_“Boooooooo.” The telekinetic witch cups her hand around her mouth to amplify the sound and gestures a big thumbs down._

_“Boo you, man!” Sharply tapping at her phone sending the order through, placing the device face up to track its progress. “ANYWAY, back to the thing,” she fiddled with the bottle in thought, “Never have I ever gone toooo a boarding school.”_

_“Hey! That’sso CHEAP! You already know that about me!”_

_“I like winning,” Mel cocked her head to the side with a smile and shrugged then pushed the bottle toward her sister, “drink up!”_

_She narrowed her eyes in return, “There’sno winning in Never Have I Ever, but fine, I see how it is.” She lifted the bottle to her lips, tipping her head back to take a big gulp without breaking eye contact then using the back of her hand to sloppily wipe at her mouth. “Never have I ever had sex with a woman.” She put the bottle down with a thud and flicked her wrist, sending it across the table right into Mel’s open hand._

_The time-witch’s jaw fell open, “Ohhh, okay,” Macy’s serious game face melted away as she burst into a laugh. “WOW! That’s how we’re gonna do things?”_

_“Uh-huh!”_

_“Mkay, sister. Get ready!”_

_“Bring it.”_

_-_

Feeling _relatively_ more awake and significantly less gross than she had several minutes earlier, Macy emerged from her room wearing a light grey Columbia hoodie and black sweatpants. Her hair was pulled into a loose bun that sat on top of her head with pink velvet scrunchie - one Maggie had lent to her months ago and she was definitely going to give back… at some point.

She padded down the hall and stopped at Mel’s slightly open door. Cautiously raising a hand to knock, she hesitated. Wrestling with her thoughts as she rocked back and forth on the balls of her feet before deciding against it.

The scientist pivoted on her heel and headed down the stairs pausing to look at the state of the living room. Needless to say, it was a mess. Crumbs and bags of salty snacks were scattered on the floor. She stopped herself from picking anything up, walking past the mess toward the kitchen with only food in mind.

-

_11:30pm-ish_

_“So, you WERE!”_

_“I was NOT!”_

_“YOU WERE TOO!”_

_Mel and Macy were sprawled out on the floor next to each other, the eldest Vera-Vaughn’s head in the dining room and legs in the living room. She pushed up onto her elbows to look at the time-witch who mirrored her position._

_“Y’know I thought Maggie wasjust kidding! But it’sTRUE! You were a Gleek!”_

_Mel covered her face with her hands, “Shut up! I was not!”_

_“You so were!”_

_“No, no, no, no!”_

_“Who was your favourite?”_

_“No one!”_

_“Was it that blonde cheerleader? OH MY GOD, was it…” snapping her finger to try and jog her memory, “What was her name? The main girl! What was her name? Rachel! Was it, Rachel?”_

_Mel peaked through her fingers, “Oh my GOD! No! Rachel was the worst!” Her next words were muffled by her palms as Macy stretched her neck out towards her to hear._

_“What was that?”_

_More muffled sounds._

_“Sorry, one more time?”_

_“Santana was the hottest one in that little club!”_

_“AH-HA!”_

_“UHHHHH,” rolling over onto her stomach and hiding her face, “SHUT UP!”_

_“This is amazing, I love this!” Her face getting serious, “Did you have a favourite episode?”_

_“No.” Although she couldn’t see, she could practically_ hear _the time-witch pouting._

_“Come on, Mel!”_

_Turning her face to the side and blowing out a raspberry, “You can’t_ have _a favourite Glee episode, Mace, the_ whole _thing is a dumpster fire.” Rolling on to her side she continued, “But also, everyone knows that the first 13 episodes were the best and the back 9 of season 1 was where everything really started to fall apart.”_

 _Macy said nothing as she tried to resist the smile creeping up her face, “Oh, yeah.” She nodded along mockingly, “_ Everyone _knows that, Mel.”_

_Curling into the fetal position and covering her face to hide her embarrassment she groaned into her hands, “Hnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnng stop please!”_

_Macy flopped down onto her back in laughter “And you tried to convince me you were a punk.”_

_“Shut uppppppp!”_

-

Macy strode into the kitchen meeting a much greater disaster. Drunk Macy could not bake or do dishes or clean any surface.

The scientist closed her eyes and began at her temples while letting out a pained groan, “I _hate_ me.” After sighing heavily, she got to work on making a fresh pot of coffee and drinking some water. As she waited on the much-needed caffeine to brew, she took in the mess and started making a game plan on how to tackle it.

_-_

_2:00am-ish_

_“Hey, Google? Play Beyoncé s Homecoming Album.”_

_“_ Playing Homecoming: The Live Album by Beyoncé _”_

_“Hey, Google? Why did Beyoncé take Jay-z back? He didn’t deserve her!”_

_“Nobody deserves her.”_

_“NOBODY DESERVES YOU, MACE! And you wanna know why?”_

_“Why?”_

_“Because you’re BRILLIANT. You’re BRAVE. You’re… wassanother ‘b’ word?”_

_“B-b-b-b-b-b”_

_“BEAUTIFUL.”_

_“Stop it!”_

_“No! Really! You’re BEAUTIFUL.”_

_“_ YOU’RE _BEAUTIFUL!”_

_“Y’know Mace. Macy.”_

_“Wha?”_

_“Mace.”_

_“Uh-huh?”_

_“Macyyyyy!”_

_“Hmm?”_

_“C’mere.”_

_“Why?”_

_Lowering her voice to a drunken whisper, “I have something important to tell you.”_

_“M-kay,” scooching across the kitchen floor towards Mel, who leaned forward until their foreheads were touching, eyes slightly crossing._

_“You’re great.” The time-witch lifted a wobbly finger and touched her nose, “BOOP!”_

_“PFFFFFFFFFT!” they tumble to the ground and the sounds of laughter and lively brass horns filled the spaces around them._

_Suddenly halting her giggles, she sat up, “I gotta bake.”_

-

Macy turned toward the open pizza box on the kitchen table picking it up and bringing it to the island instead. She plated a slice and tossed it into the microwave to reheat, grumbling to herself about the loudness of the buttons and the general microwave-y sounds as she waited.

An hour and a half later she had gotten to work on the mess. The place looked much better now just by wiping the counters but it was the shrinking pile of dishes in the sink that really made the place sparkle.

Just as she was finishing up the last of the late-night baking dishes a voice came from behind her that startled her.

“UGH! Holy shit.”

“JESUS CHRIST!” Almost jumping out of her skin, she dropped a large metal bowl and it clattered loudly into the sink making an impossibly loud sound that she winced at as she spun around to see her sister. Mel had silently wandered into the kitchen at some point and sat herself down at the island without saying a word, until now apparently.

The time-witch scrunched up her face and threw her hands over her ears, “Oh. My. God.”

“Mel!” Turning back to the sink to shut off the tap then whirling around again.

“Please, _please_ don’t yell-”

“You scared the shit out of me-”

“My braaain-”

“How long have you been there-”

“What are you even cleaning, an explosion-”

“That doesn’t make any sense-”

“Uggggh I don’t care, it’s just so loud.” Dropping her head to the wooden surface and wrapping her arms over herself to drown out the rest of the world.

Macy shook her head to herself and went back to rinsing out the metal bowl and place it on the drying wrack. “Good morning, by the way.” She teased as she removed the yellow rubber gloves, hanging them over the edge of the sink then took a spot against the counter to look at her sister. At least, what she believed to be her sister. A dark-grey blob is what sat across from her; the hood of the sweater had been pulled over the younger Vera’s head which was buried beneath the loose sleeves.

“Mm g’morning.” She mumbled back and seemed to retreat further into her fortress of grey.

“I’d ask how you’re holding up but I think the answer is pretty clear.”

The grey lump let out a long _,_ pained groan then shifted to the side to reveal pale cheeks and tired eyes that squinted at the light, “Why.” it wasn’t a question, “Why?” okay, that one was a question. “Macy… whyyy?!” Her hoarse voice trailing off to weep melodramatically.

Macy snorted out a laugh, “Why what, Mel?”

“Why did we drink that much? Who did we think we were, Maggie?”

“Hah, it would seem so.” She pushed the box of cold pizza towards the pouting woman and opened it up, “You think you can stomach anything? I still feel like shit but the greasy carbs really helped.”

Lifting her head to stare at the offering, making a point to grimace at the Hawaiian slices before grabbing a slice from her side and taking a small bite, humming at the slight comfort it was bringing. “Do we have Gatorade?” She asked between her chewing.

“Mmm, I don’t think so?”

“Fuck. I just… I want to feel normal again.”

“Me too. I think Harry left his Hair of Dog recipe somewhere here…”

Mel hesitated before taking another bite and lowered the pizza away from her open mouth, “Honestly? I’m game if you are. I do not want to spend the rest of the day feeling like this.” She fully set the slice back down in the box and rounded the isle to take out the blender.

Macy nodded in agreement, crossing the room to the hutch she began rummaging through one of the drawers until she pulled out a note with Harry’s writing. “Got it.” She walks over to the island taking a seat in the younger witch’s previous spot.

“Great. What do we need for it?” The time-witch asked as she leaned against the counter.

“Well, for starters; bananas.”

“Okay.” Mel walked over the bowl of fruit on the wooden countertop and grabbed the two.

“Can you also grab two oranges?”

“Sure thing.”

“Do we have pineapples?”

“I think…” Swinging open the freezer door and searching within, “I thought we had– yes! Yeah. I mean, we have _frozen_ pineapple chunks? That should be fine, right?”

“Sure, that’s perfect.” Mel nods in response and grabs the package, bringing it over to their pile of ingredients. “Last things on the list are kale aaaand ooh! Coconut water!”

“OooOoo,” Raising her brows with delight, she turns back around, opening the fridge door to pull out a bundle of kale and a carton of coconut water. Looking over the leafy greens before setting it down next to the rest of the items and mumbling to herself, “Oh that’s why it was green,” then dragging her eyes up to her sister, “Okay, this actually sounds pretty good.”

“Don’t forget the _hair of dog_.” Both of them taking a moment to silently retch before looking at one another again. “I think it’s in the attic.”

“Okay.”

The two witches stay there looking expectantly at each other as neither of them make a move to retrieve the final and most important ingredient.

“Can you…” Macy shifts her eyes awkwardly to her left and right, “go get it?”

“Why don’t you go?” Mel shoots back at her.

“Why do _I_ have to go?”

“Because you’re closer.”

“What- Really?”

“Yeah.”

Huffing to herself, she slaps her hands down on the counter top and rises to her feet, “ _Fine._ ”

As the older Vera-Vaughn makes her exit she stops abruptly in the doorway, “But,” she turns around, “ _you_ have to be the one to do all the blending. And those frozen pineapple chunks are gonna be _so loud._ ” With that she pivoted on her ball of her foot and made her way towards the stairs as Mel sputtered.

“WAIT. What? _How is that fair?!”_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i wrote the ending like last week so all that's left is the... in between.  
> i think there'll be like 3-4 more chapters? give or take? hopefully i'll have it all up soon!  
> 


	9. i'm not over it

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> attempting to talk...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> things are gonna get tense.  
> also thank you for your comments and kudos and also i just found out that you can reply to comments so... sorry for taking like a year to do that!

Lightly jogging down the steps from the attic with a small vial of _magic unknown dog hair_ in her pocket, Macy stops by her room and grabs her phone off the nightstand, unplugging it and finally looking over her notifications she so groggily ignored a few hours ago.

 

 

> _5 New Messages from Maggie_
> 
> _Maggie 2:53am: okay that was super cute and I’m sorry for hanging up on you guys but I really need sleep_
> 
> _Maggie 2:55am: just a reminder to TURN OFF THE OVEN_
> 
> _Maggie 3:00am: TURN OFF THE OVEN, okay?_
> 
> _Maggie 8:50am: I’m going to assume that you both survived the night and are just nursing massive hangovers or sleeping and that’s why you haven’t texted me back yet_
> 
> _Maggie 8:55am: reeeeeally trying not to think that the house burned down with you two inside it…_

Macy grimaces and types out a quick response.

 

> _Macy 11:20am: All good! Turned off the oven, left a mess, big ol’ hangover, making Harry’s gross Hair of Dog remedy now._
> 
> _Sorry for making you worry!_

She exits the conversation and notes the small _20_ that floats next to the Vera-Vera-Vaughn Sisterhood chat, it had apparently been very busy in the last twelve hours or so. She assumed it was Maggie, the multi-texter that she was.

 

 

> _Harry 10:30pm: Good evening ladies, I hope I’m not disturbing you, I thought I’d update you all on status of the New Whitelighter Order. The good news is folks are really looking forward to a change in leadership and working alongside the Power of Three, as we know from our previous celebrations. The bad news or troublesome news, is that other magical creatures would like to have and learn to use Whitelighter magic to better help their communities, but the remaining Whitelighters are unsure of how to access and distribute it without the Elders. More updates to come._
> 
> _Maggie 10:45pm: sounds like a productive first meeting, Hare! Congrats! Tell them we’re excited to work with them too! As for the WL magic? When I get back I’m sure V3 can do some digging and work something out!_
> 
> _Harry 10:48pm: That’s great, Maggie. Thank you._
> 
> _Mel 1:30am: that’s sooooo many wordss Harry. Couldnt yoi have just comr ho.e and told us thss to out face?_
> 
> _Harry 8:45am: Sorry, Mel, are you okay? Did you need me to come home?_
> 
> _Maggie: 8:46am: LMFAOOOOO!!! No, Hare, they’re good_
> 
> _Oh wait._
> 
> _Mace, did you turn off the oven like I told you to?_
> 
> _Maggie 8:50am: Mel? You two remembered to turn off the oven, right?_
> 
> _Harry 8:57am: Why did Maggie need to remind you *both* to turn off the oven?_
> 
> _Maggie 8:58am: know what? They’re probably fine and safe and the house is fine and safe too._
> 
> _Harry 8:58am: Oh dear. That is a worrisome thing to say. This meeting is about to start but I think I can get there and back in a flash just to check it out._
> 
> _Harry 9:00am: It would appear the house is still standing and the oven was turned off, although the state of the kitchen and living room are disastrous and completely Vera-Vaughn made. I suppose Mel and Macy had an eventful evening._
> 
> _Maggie 9:02am: L M A O!!_
> 
> _Damn, I actually feel kinda left out tho :’(_
> 
> _But alsoooo_
> 
> _I don’t have to clean up so sucks for them I guess! XD_
> 
> _Mel 10:45am: you’re the worst, Maggie. Don’t you have something bougie you could be doing right now?_
> 
> _Maggie 10:57am: rude -_-_
> 
> _But yes. I do. :P_

As Macy catches up on the last message, a banner drops down at the top of her screen.

 

> _New message from Maggie._
> 
> _Maggie 11:23am: LOLLLLL it’s fine, Harry checked in earlier._
> 
> _And you guys must’ve done some serious damage though, he said the place was a disaster._
> 
> _Did you two have fun at least?_
> 
> _Have some drunken heart to hearts?_

Macy rolled her eyes at her sisters’ eagerness.

 

 

> _Macy 11:23am: Yeah, I think we had fun. We’re finding a groove :)_
> 
> _Maggie 11:23am: that’s good! What are you gals doing today?_

Macy’s stomach lurched a little. She hadn’t really thought about what their day would look like. Were they friends now? Could they casually spend the day together? Sure, they had fun but they didn’t exactly _fix_ anything. She worried her bottom lip as she tapped away at her screen.

 

 

> _Macy 11:25am: I’m not sure. We’ll have to see how much this Hair of Dog thing will work for us. I also still have some things I wanted to do for myself but maybe we’ll do something in the evening?_
> 
> _Maggie 11:25am: okay, that works :)_

She sends back a thumbs up emoji and locks her phone, dropping it in her pocket and slumping against the doorway. At least now the ice had been broken, maybe they weren’t ready to deep dive into root of the problem but surely, they could be around each other without being drunk.

However; if this last year with Mel has taught her anything it’s that she’s unpredictable, sometimes she’s warm and attentive and other times she can be distant and kind of insensitive. Figuring she’d just have to see where the day would take them, she blows out a raspberry and pushes herself off the doorframe, hoping for the best as she heads toward the grating sounds coming from downstairs.

-

“WAIT. What? _How is that fair?!”_

No response.

“Mace!”

Nothing.

She let out a forceful grunt in annoyance and balled up her hands into fists. Taking a deep breath then shaking her head to clear her thoughts – which she immediately regretted due to her brain already feeling so scrambled – then plugged in the blender and got to work.

Fifteen minutes later, conveniently timed so she wouldn’t be present for it, Macy came bounding into the kitchen and handed over the vial of dog hair.

“Great,” her irritation making itself known, the time-witch took the final ingredient, “thanks. Does it say how much we need to put in?”

“Oh, umm,” the taller woman leans over the island and snags the paper, “-mmmmm,” skimming through the instructions, “No.” She finishes with a frown.

“Should we put in a bunch?”

“We could… or we could just text him and ask?”

“That might take too long though,” her patience was wearing thin, as if the earth-shattering noise wasn’t enough, the barfy feeling and pounding in her head seemed to be getting worse by the second, “Can I just see that?”

“Have at ‘er,” she responded flatly and handed the recipe over, Mel’s sour attitude seemed to be rubbing off on her.

Taking the paper and flipping it back and forth searching until she finds what she’s looking for, “Mace, it says _right_ _here_.” Her voice more pointed than she intended, she ignores the way her sisters’ brow knits and head twitches at her tone and pushes on boldly, “alright, here we go.”

Opening the vial, she pinches a few hairs and drops them into the mixture, pulsing the machine a few times before filling two tall glasses and handing one over, all the while not saying a word and avoiding the other woman’s eyes.

This was _trivial_. This was sisterhood pettiness at its finest and in Mel’s extensive experience the tension should dissipate within 5-10 minutes, _maybe_ an hour, tops. After gulping down the concoction, she felt the nausea retreating and the drumming in her head begin to quiet. Coming back to herself, she looked to her sister and found a stiffness still lingering around them.

Mel was didn't want her tiny outburst derail their budding friendship, so she pushed any residual feelings of irritation, anger and pride into a tiny chest, padlocking it and tucked it away in the far corner of her mind to deal with later. She knew she wasn’t an expert at communicating, but she thought she would take a stab at what she believed to be the _possible_ root of the problem; forgiveness, or lack of it.

“I’m over what happened.” She wasn’t. “Um, just, just so you know. We’re cool.” They weren’t and she knew she should probably be saying something else or something _more_. Mel has never been a “people-pleaser” but here she was, trying to be passive. Though, Maggie _did_ say to try a different approach and to keep her emotions in check, perhaps being cool and compliant would be the best solution.

“Oh, uh… really?”

“Yeah, water under the bridge as they say, totally over and above it.” This wasn’t a good look for her.

Macy looked up to the ceiling, “Okay, that’s uh,” her face contorting in confusion and uncertainty, “sure, cool...”

“Yeup.” The younger woman nodded firmly and trusted that she had done her part… sort of. “So…” she trailed off with nothing else to say or nothing she wanted to say right now. Having checked out, she turned to the sink to wash her glass and the blender, ready to put this behind them and spend the rest of the day together.

“Can I be honest with you?” Macy’s voice tethering her to back into the physical and emotional space, rocking that little box and disturbing its’ peace.

Mel hesitated, she didn't want to do this now, “Go for it.” 

“ _I’m_ not over it.”

“Oh…” it was clearly not what she wanted to hear. She bites the inside of her cheek and distracts herself with the dishes, “why’s that?”

“Because I think we really hurt each other and that’s something we should talk about.”

A dry laugh slips out, “Yeah, I guess you could say that.” and the chest begins to rumble, “So, what about it?”

“Uh, well for starters, how do you _actually_ feel?”

Mel takes a deep breath trying to keep her cool. She was tired of people asking her this because she hadn’t allowed herself to think about it. Or maybe she had and just wasn’t ready to accept the answer. And if she wouldn’t give herself that clarity, her stubborn ass sure as hell wasn’t about to give it to someone else. Instead, she sabotages the conversation by picking at the padlock on that tiny chest.

“I don’t know what you expect me to say, I told you, I’m fine.” She scrubs harder at the pitcher in her hands, “How do _you_ feel about it?”

“Frustrated for the most part.”

“Why are _you_ frustrated?” her composure was crumbling and she knew but did nothing to stop it.

“Because I never wanted to hurt you.”

She slows her movements for a brief moment letting the words steep. Watching the water flow over the glass of the blender, carrying the soap suds in circles around the sink before disappearing down the drain. The padlock clicks open and a smoke of ire seeps out beginning to cloud her mind.

“Kinda seems like you did.” She places the dish on the rack and dries her hands, keeping her back to her sister.

“Mel, I’m sorry that I hurt you.”

She grits her teeth and finally turns to face her, “Which time?” she shoots back; the chest now open revealing a fire that is scathing and mean and unnecessary.

“All of them.” The admission is so small and honest it strikes her with overwhelming guilt.

Averting her gaze to a spot on the floor, she stays quiet as the fiery monster is smothered and shoved back into the box, locking once more; an apology catches in the back of her throat.

There’s a chill in the silence that settles around them and the voice that follows is low and coarse and demonic, “You’re not as above this as you think you are _,_ Mel. _”_

Glancing up she meets blackened eyes that paralyze her. And just as quickly as they came, they went; blinking away and leaving behind an equally terrified woman. They don’t look away or say anything or move.

The silence seems to stretch on forever until finally Macy bows her head and detaches herself from the space, turning and walking out of the kitchen. Mel closes her eyes and cussing herself out; why did she keep doing this? She grabs Macy’s forgotten glass and cleans it out then moves to the living room to distract herself by cleaning up from the night before, while thinking of a way to fix the mess she’d made just now.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay i base a LOT of their conversations off of conversations that my sister and i have had. i ALSO project a LOTTTTT of myself on to mel. specifically my younger self and who they were with my own sister. technically mel and i are the same age but she's not as like, introspective as i *need* her to be. AND SO. SHE WILL BE AS INTROSPECTIVE AS I NEED HER TO BE.  
> thank you for reading <3


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